And a day
by Tashilover
Summary: After Whispering Rock, Raz and Lili went their seperate ways. He left to train with the best, she was left behind. Years later at a university, they meet again. When murders start occuring around campus, could this really be a good time for romance?
1. Yesterday

A/N: Do you guys know how hard it was for me to write this? I've been wanting to write a Psychonaut fic since forever, but could NOT find a decent story line (or at least not one that hasn't already been done!) But then the quote "Write what you know" came to play.

So as a young college student, I wrote this. I will do another Psychonaut fic one day, but for now, I'll just sink my teeth into this one.

Just a note: This IS a romance. There's another subplot in here, but mostly it's a romance. If ya'll don't like that…read anyways because I kick ass! …Please?

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The last time Lili ever saw Raz was at his boarding gate.

Years later when Lili tried to go back to that memory, a little bit more was forgotten. The gate number and the time was the first to go. Then the little things Lili wished she should have remembered were blurry in her mind. Did Raz wear his goggles or did Sasha tell him to take them off? Did he wear his green sweater or his traditional clothing? Was he nervous? Was she?

He had to leave because there was nothing more Sasha or Milla could teach him. As a budding young psychic, Raz needed teachers who were masters in their own art. And since most of them were not willing to fly to the States for one student, Raz had to go to them.

In her memory, sometimes his flight left early in the morning. Other times it was late in the afternoon, depending on the mood she was in. The adults were talking among themselves on the side. Raz's father, her father, Sasha and Milla. Saying their good-byes and good luck speeches. Milla broke out into tears.

"Oh, darling! It feels like I'll never see you again!"

As part of the female species, Lili felt a little more than embarrassed when Milla suddenly wrapped herself around Sasha and bawled into his shoulder.

"For pity sakes Agent Vodello, I'm only going to be gone for a few months!" Sasha yelled at her.

This only made Milla to cry harder.

Not wanting to make such a scene, Lili played it cool. "Here," She shoved a piece of paper into Raz's hand. "Here's my address, my home phone number, my cell phone number, my email-"

"Whoa, whoa, Lili," Raz stopped her midway. "My family are gypsies, remember? I don't own a computer or phone or anything like that."

Lili felt herself blush. "Well that's just stupid! Fine then! You better promise to write to me every week!"

"Seesh, how did I get such a abusive girlfriend?" Lili smacked him on the arm. "Ow! Okay! I promise!"

"Every week?"

"Every week."

Above them, an electronic voice rang out. _"Now boarding flight 267, all seats available. Repeat, now boarding flight 267, all seats available. Thank you."_

"Come Razputin!" Sasha motioned him over. "It's time to get on the plane."

"Well, I gotta go," Raz picked up his carry on luggage. "I'll write to you as soon as I can." He turned to leave.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Lili pointed out.

"Uh?" Raz began touching himself, trying to see what he left behind. "Money, jacket, bag…"

Lili groaned. "_Me,_ you idiot. Kiss me good-bye."

Raz went red in the face. "Here? Now? But your dad is watching."

Lili cocked an eyebrow and strutted a hip out. Her body language spoke: _Do this now or else._

Usually when her day went bad, Lili took a moment and find herself a quite little corner. She tried not to do this often because she was afraid she'll over think that memory and the feelings would not come back to her.

Raz came up to her. Grasped her hands, and leaned in. Lili remembered with her eyes close, hearing the reactions around her. Sasha moaned because they were taking too long. Milla whooped and cheered. Raz's dad muttered something along the lines- she could not remember every word- "Only ten and my son gets more action than I do."

Her dad, thankfully, stayed quiet. Though when she finally did look at him, he was purple in the face.

After all, she was only eleven. He was her first kiss. No girl forgets the first guy she's kissed. And that kiss? In reality, nothing special. They were young, inexperienced. All they did was connect lips and nothing more.

And yet, no matter how many times she went back to that day and replayed that scene over and over in her head, she still produced butterflies in her stomach.

She could not recall what Raz said to her afterward. All she remembered was him passing through that gate and never seeing him again.

And like promised, he wrote to her every week. She could not write back as often because he was constantly moving around. She would get letters addressed from England, then Spain, then back to England, various places of Europe and sometimes from Japan. He would tell Lili-in great detail- about his training, his teachers and even secretly write in a few passages from Milla's letters to Sasha. He would always end the letters with "Love, Raz" or "Yours truly, Raz."

And sometimes, "Lord and Master of this world and the next, Razputin!"

Then about three months in, the letters started to dwindle down. They would come once every two weeks. Then every three weeks. Then once a month.

Lili tried not to feel rejected. After all, Raz was probably really busy and could not find the time. But when she received one letter from him after four months of silence, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

Psychics are taught, even though they have the power to read minds, does not mean they _should _read minds. It's just about the principal of ethics and privacy. People, even psychics, have to respect each other's boundaries.

Psychometry isn't a very wide used power. A person can touch an inanimate object and "see" where it has been and who has touched it. Such a power is usually used by detectives with murder weapons and whatnot.

Touching the one page letter to her head, Lili closed her eyes and read this paper's adventure.

The scene came to her in flashes. Her mailbox, the post office, the thousands of other letters it sat next to, the plane, more letters, an exotic mail box and then-

Lili found out that Raz did not send the letter out personally. _Sasha _was the one who sent her letter out, along with four others. This pissed her off.

Finally the source. Needless to say, this scene made Lili very, very angry.

In one hand, the pen Raz wrote with. In the other, his head. Looking bored and not at all interested, Raz wrote her letter without much care or affection. He even picked his nose while writing it. It took him a matter of three days to write four paragraphs before giving up and sending it out.

The letter burst into flames.

How dare he? How _dare _he? Treating this, as if it was some kind of _chore?_

The letter in her hands burned until there was nothing but ash. It didn't stop there. The others, both pictures and letters, flew out from her desk and those too, burned. Her friendship bracelet burned. She even went so far to wash her lips.

Years later, she would look back and regret this decision. Angry as she was, she could not deny those were fond memories.

Two more letters would come before stopping completely. Lili burned those without opening them.

Life carried on. A year later, her father stepped down as head honcho of the Psychonauts. Keeping the company as a democracy he explains. He went on to open various schools around the world specifically for psychics.

Lili may have never heard from Raz again, but she heard _of _him. Once in a while as she walked around Psychonaut HQ, she would overhear someone talking about a kid with "big goggles."

"Hey, did you know Agent Nein is training that kid from the circus?"

"I heard that Aquato saved fourteen people from a burning building."

"This is the sixth time this year Agent Aquato was in a issue of True Psychic Tales."

Years would pass. Seasons changed. Lili grew up. She placed the face of her first love to the back of her mind, focusing on her future. She went on to graduate from one of these schools her father had set up and eventually transferred to a major university. At the age of nineteen, Lili did not think about Razputin Aquato in over five years.

At the age of nineteen, is when she would meet him again.

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A/N: Like it? Hate it? Wanna do weird nasty things to it? R/R please!


	2. First day

At the age of nineteen, Lili Zanotto stood at an impressive 5'9. She was taller than most of her boyfriends, causing them much grief from friends. In fact, she broke up with two of them because of her height.

She didn't mind her height, but there were other parts of her body she did not care for much. She thought she was little too skinny for her own good, she wished her breasts were bigger-in accordance to her height- and eventually came to the conclusion that she was never going to get a tan. She's been pale her whole life and nothing short of baking in the sun for sixteen hours is going to change that.

School does not officially start for another three days. Lili was taking this time to move and settle into her new dorm room.

Above the brunette's head, boxes flew around in a periodic manner. Clothes jumped out, folded themselves neatly in her drawer. Without human assistance, books alphabetically went into her shelves. Even her bed was being made by some unseen hands as blankets and pillows covered the mattress. The psychic who wields such power sat quietly at her desk, trying to figure out her schedule.

"In the morning I have Professor Reed for _Long Distance Telepathy,_" She mumbled to herself, scratching her pencil across the paper. "I have a two hour rest period then I have _Understanding Plants _with Professor Jones…"

Her cell phone rang. The boxes above her head halted their movement and hovered silently. Lili flipped open her phone.

"Hello? Oh, hey dad."

"_Hello sweetie," _Her dad spoke from the other side. _"Have you settled in yet?"_

"Not yet," Lili sighed. "I think I brought too much crap with me. I'm having a hard time trying to find out where to put my stuff."

"_Have you met your roommate yet?"_

"No. So far she's a no show," Lili eyed the other side of the room. An empty mattress and a bare wall stared back at her. "If she doesn't show up soon, I'm storing my things on her side."

"_She's probably lost. It's a big campus. Even if she doesn't show up, the student body will give her room away to somebody else. When I went to college, I had four roommates in five months."_

"Dad, you went to a mundane university."

"_And you think a psychic college is any different? Trust me, there'll be a drunken frat boy running stark naked through your dorms before the week is up."_

Lili laughed. "It's cold over here, Dad. I don't think guys want to experience shrinkage."

"_Oh, speaking of guys, do you remember your little friend from camp?"_

"Dad, I went to that camp for six years. I had many different friends."

"_Yes, but this was one of your closer friends…Razputin Aquato?"_

Lili blinked. A sudden image of her childhood crush came to her mind. The only thing that didn't followed was the affection she once felt. No heated cheeks, no butterflies in the stomach. Just a face of a boy she knew. "Yeah, I remember him. What about him?"

"_Well I heard he just recently registered at your school."_

The dormant floating boxes suddenly fell out of the sky. Clothes and books spewed out all over the floor, creating a magnificent CRASH. Lili cursed as she saw her new plates and cups broke into a million pieces.

"_What was that sound?" _Her father asked when Lili didn't respond.

"Uh, Dad, I gotta go," She sounded flustered. "I'll talk to you soon, bye!" And she flipped the phone off.

"Aw, hell," Lili mumbled, glaring at the shattered glass among her clothes. This wasn't a mess she could clean up with her powers. The glass shards impeded in her clothes were too small to pick out. This meant she would have to take all of her laundry and wash them free of particles. It would take her hours.

A broom and pan floated onto the scene, sweeping up the glass as her books went back into the now torn boxes. Half of her mind controlled the broom, the other half was on other things.

She didn't know why she acted so dramatically. Sure, it's not every day to find out your childhood sweetheart was coming to your school. Even more, that sweetheart was now a famous international Psychonaut. As soon as enters this school, girls will be throwing themselves at him. Guys too.

For years now, Lili did not have to rely on that memory to make her day better. One day she realized she could not keep looking to the past for happiness. So she tucked that memory away along with the memory of her spilling ketchup on her prom dress.

Other thoughts came to her. Girly thoughts. Thoughts she usually would have been embarrassed about.

Suddenly she wondered what he looked like. She could not picture his face on an adult body. It was just too weird for her.

She wondered if he remembers her. He should. After all, who could forget all that happened at Whispering Rock? Does he recall her as his old girlfriend or just some kid he once knew?

Lili reminded herself there was a chance they would not meet. After all, this is a _huge _school. The science department itself has twenty-seven labs in one building. In a university with over nine thousand students from thirty-four different countries, there was a good chance she will never pass Raz in the halls.

"I don't have time for this," She told herself, diminishing the broken glass into her trash bin. "I need to go to the laundry mat before it closes."

Once again, she pushed Raz's smiling face to the back of her mind. Clothes floating behind her, Lili closed her door and went out down the hallway.

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Nobody knew why Paths University was built between the borders of the U.S. and Canada. Some said it was to strengthen relationship between the two nations. Others thought it was to help students with their transcripts. Whatever the reason, the school's unusual geography placement roused a huge amount of crude immigrant jokes.

Today is the first day of classes. The hallways were packed with students, teachers and parents, pushing and shoving their way through. The air crackled with psychic energy from trained and untrained students, causing hair to frizz and fly. Lili made the smart move by tying her hair back in a ponytail. Lest she go to class looking like she walked in front of a wind tunnel.

Despite how crowded the halls were, nobody dared to levitate themselves high above the heads. People had their backpacks and books following them close behind. Once every couple of seconds, a collision of supplies happens and from the result, a fight. A few windows were kept open so trained levitators could simply fly in and out of their classrooms.

Lili was not one of these people. Levitation and confusion has never been one of her strong points. She only had enough power to 'fly' for a couple seconds before losing control and slowly float back down to earth. She was bad at confusion because she never bothered to practice it. She was more incline to setting people on fire. That, she was good at.

As a first year student, Lili took classes she knew she need, but not necessarily pointed to one particular degree. At first glance at her schedule, it looks as if she was training to be a Psychonaut.

Hand-to-mind fighting

Long distance telepathy

Physical Education

Mental Defenses

Biology

Lili never wanted to be a Psychonaut. She did not want to be like her father, forced to go all over the world, be in constant risk of psyche terrorists, or worst yet, become as paranoid as Sasha Nein. She wanted to help people in ways that didn't involve fighting some nut job.

She has yet to decide which career she wanted. She was slowly leaning towards plant psychic. With such power, she could help farmers, save the rainforest or even encourage plants to grow in remote places of Africa.

First class of the first day: Hand-to-Mind fighting.

Lili wore no makeup to this class, knowing very well she'll just sweat it off. She also did not wear any fancy clothes or shoes, as instructed in her syllabus. Wear clothes she was willing to lose.

The gym was easy to find. Located on the far side of the campus, Lili drugged down the steep hill to the withered old building where numerous repairs on the rood could be seen. (Students would often get over excited and shoot psi-blasts through the walls and ceiling.) By the time she got inside, most of the class already had assembled and were talking amongst themselves. Some wore track suits, others wore old clothes. Lili spotted a few girls wearing nothing more than spandex shorts and a sports bra. Those girls were getting the most attention from the boys.

"Hi," Lili said to the closest person to her, a boy shorter than her. "Is this Mr. Meyers class for hand-to-mind fighting?"

"Yeah," He said smiling gently at her. "He's not here yet."

"Wow, I didn't expect so many people," Lili exclaimed, looking around the large group.

"Most of them are here for Psychonaut training."

"And you're not?"

"Nah, I want to be a doctor. But this class is required for my degree," He shrugged. "Dunno why. I'm Lionel, by the way."

"Lili," She replied with a smile of her own. "I'm taking this class because my degree has me out in the field. So I need to be on top of my reflexes for whatever nature throws my way."

"Oh thank god," Lionel sighed. "Most of the girls here joined this class because of some hot shot celebrity."

Lili's blood went cold.

The doors to the gym opened. To Lili's great relief, it was not whom she thought it would be. It was, she assumed, their teacher, Mr. Meyers.

He was _big. _He was easily over six feet tall, bald as the day he was born, and each limb was the size of a tree trunk. Even as psychics, nobody wanted to mess with this guy.

Meyers came in front of the group of students and looked them over with one large green eye. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked them fiercely, as if they knew how to answer back. "Why are most of you sitting down? _Stand up!"_

Those who sat quickly got to their feet. Talking immediately ceased and everyone had a sense of dread riding across their face.

"Welcome students to _Hand-to-mind Combat _class. I am your teacher, your trainer, your EMT, Mr. Kail Meyers. Call me anything but 'Mr. Meyers,' and I'll throw you out of this class, understood?"

Everyone nodded.

"There'll be no eating. No drinking unless it's water. No roughhousing. If you can't take pain, then I suggest you drop out. So far, any questions?"

Nobody wanted to ask one. Lili wanted to know how he was going grade them, but she kept that to herself. Something told her she wasn't going to get an answer.

"Okay then," Meyers said after a moment. "Everyone line up in one single file…now!"

The students scrambled to form a single line. After a few seconds of confusion and bumping into each other, all thirty-seven students lined up. Lili was fifteenth in line. Meyers stood approximately thirty feet away, standing next to a beaten old punching bag.

"I'm going to summon a shield around this bag. One by one, I want you each to shoot a psi-beam at my shield. Shoot with all your might; try to shatter my shield. I'll center my training on how powerful your beam is. First one up, have at it."

First one up was one of the training bra girls. She put two fingers to her temple and shot out a hot straight blue psi-beam at Meyer's shield. The beam hit dead on. Meyer's shield wavered but did not shatter.

Meyers said nothing. Floating next to his head, a pen scribbled something on a piece of paper. The girl went back to the end of the line, letting the next person up.

The next was also a girl. Unlike bra-woman, this girl shot her beam without even aiming. The psychic energy missed its target by a good five feet, striking the wall behind it. It left a scorch mark. Once again, Meyers said nothing as the pen wrote something on the sheet.

The line assumed as each student took their turn. Some kids were clearly quite strong, while others were clearly quite weak. None had shattered Meyer's shield.

Lili was up next. Like the ones before her, she placed two fingers to her temple, concentrated her energy and shot off a dark violet beam. Her beam struck the shield with a loud metallic clang, as if someone rammed an aluminum trashcan against a wall. Meyer's shield did not shatter, but it did falter and flicker like a broken light bulb.

Meyers said nothing. He only smirked.

More students shot their blasts. Meyers wrote his notes. None were able to shatter the shield. Lionel was one of the last to have his turn. Unfortunately, nothing about his psi-blast was special. He wasn't weak, but he wasn't strong either. Nothing impressive.

Five more students, five more psi-blasts, and the class was done. The coach kept quiet as his floating pencil wrote his final notes. He looked over his list, mulling them over. Nobody dared to speak.

"Good," He said finally after five minutes of silence. "Better than what I expected. So for the rest of the class I want you to-"

He was interrupted by the sound of a door opening. Thirty-eight heads turned to look who had opened the door. A random girl gasped. Lili felt her heart drop to the bottom of her stomach.

"Oh sorry," The boy murmured an apology, looking a bit embarrassed to have thirty-eight pairs of eyes staring at him. "Um…is this Mr. Meyers class for defense…?"

Mr. Meyers looked at the boy with upmost disdain. "You're late," He hissed. "Who are you?"

"I just recently signed up," He crossed the gym room towards them. A girl next to Lili suddenly grabbed her arm and squealed. "I'm not sure if I'm your list yet. Last name: Aquato. First name: Razputin."

Meyers eyed his paper. His frown became more evident. "_Agent _Aquato?" Meyers sneered. "You're the Psychonaut I was told about."

Those who were listening with half an ear were now staring at Raz with great interest. Fevered whispers tore through the group. _A Psychonaut? Here?_

"Aren't you suppose to be somewhere in Asia stopping floods?" Meyers continued, not impressed with Raz at all. "Why are you here?"

"To learn," Raz said smiling, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. "From the best…from _you _Kail Meyers, one of the worlds's top fighting elite."

Lili had heard this speech before; at camp. Raz was ten and he was trying to butter up Coach Oleander. Did he truly mean what he said or was he just ass kissing? Either way, Meyers was not flattered.

"You want private lessons, don't you, boy?"

Raz blushed. This is what he had meant. "Well, I know you don't give private lessons anymore but I was hoping-"

"That I make an exception?" Meyers interrupted. "For _you?"_

Raz blushed deeper. Meyers had placed him on the spot and will not stop until he had painted his existence as an overblown self-stroking ego maniac.

Lili wanted to get a better look at Raz without appearing like the other air-head girls here. She stubbornly stayed rooted in her spot, her view obstructed by four heads. Fortunately, Meyers gave her an opportunity.

"Only on one condition," Meyers told Raz after a thoughtful moment. "Fight."

"Fight?" Raz repeated dumbly. "You?"

"Not me. I've been holding up a mental shield for almost a half hour and I'm tired. No, you'll fight," He passed a hand over to the awaiting students. "One of them."

A girl shot her arm up in the air. "Me! Me! Me!"

"Put your hand down!" Meyers snapped at her. "If you plan to fight, plan to win. This is a test of strength and speed, not a disco. Unless you think you can win, don't raise your hand again."

The girl slunk to the back of the group.

"Sir, I don't need to fight anybody," Raz tried to reason. "I'll follow the same lesson just like everybody else-"

"Why?" Meyers raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you so confident in your abilities you think you'll win without trouble?"

Raz gulped his answer. It was obvious he had. After all, he was a high ranking Psychonaut with years of experience under his belt. And Meyers expected him to fight a bunch of untrained brats? Who in their right mind would fight him?

"I'll fight him," Lili broke from the bunch.

Meyers smirked.

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"This is just a simple sparing round. Shoot to stun. If things get too intense, I'll stop the fight."

Lili stood in the middle of the exercise mat, waiting patiently as Raz took off his sneakers. From the outside, she looked as determined as an Amazon, waiting to pounce on her prey. This was just another test for her, another obstacle to overcome.

Inside, not so very much. This fight was more of an excuse really, to see him better.

If anything, he hadn't changed. He grew taller of course, but he wasn't any taller than Lili. She assumed they were probably the same in height, but she can't believe they were the same in width. He was just as skinny as her. Unlike her, whose natural leanness made her attractive, his slim body made him look lanky and awkward. His hair was slightly longer and his skin slightly darker.

Dear god, he grew up to be a dork.

Raz came to the middle of the mat to face Lili. His face was a mask of emotions, mostly of uneasiness. He was afraid he was going to hurt someone.

Lili realized he did not recognize her. His eyes roamed her face but no familiarity was coming to him. Did she really change that much or he truly did not remember her?

An orange aura seeped out from him and slowly trailed to her. The aura touched her mind, asking permission to be let in.

After many years of building up mental defenses, Lili did not fear he was going to stumble across some embarrassing secret. For curiosity, she let him in.

_Hi, _He spoke to her. _Look, I think the coach only wants a show. I'll try to tell you when my psi-blasts are coming so you can dodge them, okay?_

Now it was Lili's turn to go red. Not red from embarrassment, red from anger.

He did not see her as a formidable opponent. He will not treat this as a real fight. He might as well told her to step down and forfeit.

_How dare he call her weak!_

Lili shoved Raz out of her mind with a violent slam, leaving him confused. Suddenly all the feelings, all the resentment she had about him came flooding out of her. His lack of letters, his lack of interest, now, his lack of perception. And he was going to pay.

"Fighters ready," Meyers boomed in a loud voice. "GO!"

In a random burst of energy, Lili launched herself forward. Using her levitation to propel herself, she crossed a twenty foot gap between her and Raz within a second. His consequence by not taking this serious was a hard right punch to the face.

He fell back. Lili jumped over him and summoned a telekinetic hand. She slammed the hand down upon Raz. He rolled out of the way just before Lili had a chance to squash him and he shot a single psi-blast at her. She erected a shield in front of her before it hit, which allowed Raz to place distance between them again.

"C'mon Psychonaut!" Some boy cried out. "Do something!"

_That's right! _Lili mentally screamed at him. _Fight back, you over confident jerk!_

Raz blinked at the familiarity of her words. If he had any sudden recollection, Lili didn't give him a chance to explore it. She was unrelenting in this fight.

She shot three psi-beams in rabid succession. Raz dodged each one by presenting a back flip and a sudden leg split. His agility was certainly impressive, but he wasn't making any real effort to counteract. Was he going to use _any _of his powers?

After five minutes of Raz jumping around like a circus monkey, Lili decided she had enough. She was going to end this now.

She caused a short strip of sudden flame to appear in front of Raz, causing him to jump back. Lili charged forward once again, bursting through the flames in a surprised attack.

What she didn't know was Raz was waiting for her to pull the same exact move.

As soon as she cleared the line of smoke, Raz was awaiting her with a confusion bomb in his hand. Unable to stop her decent, Raz threw the bomb and jumped out of the way.

Lili didn't have a chance. The green orb blew up in her face and the world around her went rigid. She felt a sudden pain in her knees and she guessed she must've landed wrong. Was she upside down? Was she right side up? Was it really her knees she was feeling? She didn't know. Her eyes blurred, her vertigo exploded and if she didn't had a good grip on her stomach, she would have probably thrown up by now.

When finally the fog lifted, Lili found herself sprawled on the ground. Raz was leaning over her, pinning her shoulders on the mat. He grinned.

"I win," He spoke.

Everyone broke into whoops and yelps. The girls screamed and the boys pumped their fists in the air. As Raz helped Lili off the floor, Meyers walked over and gave the two fighters an appreciative grin.

"Nice fight out there, you two," He said with genuine warmth. "Aquato, class starts at ten. Don't be late."

Meyers walked away and Raz's face fell. Even after all that, the coach still refused him private lessons. The whole fight had been pointless. He caught the sight of Lili out of the corner of his eye. He rubbed his chin. "Good match," He laughed. "I'm going to feel that one for days."

"Razputin," Lili interrupted. "Do…you recognize me?"

Raz paused. His eyes roamed her face, trying to find some familiarity. He shrugged with an apologetic smile and said, "I'm sorry, I don't."

It should have felt bad. He did not recognize her and despite that, she did not feel bad. Instead, she felt rather…relieved?

Yes, relieved. If he had remembered her, things would have gotten awkward. There was too much emotional baggage to deal with and now, it'll be easier on the both of them.

She asked for an autograph to give the idea she was perhaps a fan he meet years past. He politely gave her one.

After class, she crumbled and threw the autograph away. There was no hate in the act; only getting rid of a piece of paper with a scribble on it.

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A/N: Quick explanation, if some of you were wondering…Why would Lili avoid Raz? They were childhood friends, why act weird? Well, because simply, would YOU want to reestablish a relationship with an old friend/boyfriend/girlfriend? Not me. I feel things should be better left unsaid and let life carry on.

Oh, sorry that this chapter was so long. Don't worry, more interesting things in the next one. You know what I'm talking about: Red rum! (Kudos to those who got that.)

To Darkestbefourdawn: (Damn, you have a long name) Thanks for reviewing! I think I know what you mean and I'll try my best to do so. Much love!


	3. Not my day

Nobody really remembered Robert Reynolds. He preferred it that way. At seventy-four years old, he wanted his privacy and his quiet.

This did not mean he was a spiteful person. Whenever he encounters a neighbor or an old acquaintance on the street, he gave them a warm smile. Younger children often compared him to Santa Claus because of his red cheeks and sparkling eyes. Older adults did not see his wonderful demeanor; mostly because they were too busy staring at his armless torso.

Reynolds lost his right arm in an accident at the age of thirteen. It was during the time when he and a few friends were experimenting with their psychic powers and booze. Too drunk to remember that fateful night, Reynolds woke up the next day with a hangover and no right arm. The limb was never found.

At the age of forty-seven is when he lost his left arm. He was on a mission with seven other high power Agents to bring down a group of psycho-terrorists. These particular terrorists were kidnapping young psychics from their parents and used them in horrific experiments. In a battle that waged for three days, Reynolds and his team rescued all the children but he had to bury his arm that day.

One didn't really need his arms to be a Psychonaut, just need a brain. However, Reynolds took this as a sign and retired from being an active Psychonaut Agent. He stayed on as a consultant and trainer.

At the age sixty-three, arthritis took its toll and Reynolds dropped out from all duties. His body has failed him, but not his mind. He would spend the next few years comfortably sitting in his blue boy chair, telekinetically summoning anything he needed.

His wife gone, his children grown, his grandchildren almost grown, Reynolds now just waited patiently for that particular day to come.

He almost didn't hear his front door open.

At three in the morning, Reynolds thought he imagined the sound. Fully awaken a moment later, he felt that sudden evil aura radiate in his home. A dark presence was stalking him.

"I've got nothing you want," He told the presence in the dark. "Leave my home immediately."

The dark aura did not waver at his threat. Instead, it charged.

Old, not weak, Reynolds shot a fiery red psi-blast at his enemy. The dark one jumped out of the way as the psi-blast blew a gigantic hole in the carpet.

Reynolds twisted around, expecting a psychic attack and threw up his shield. The dark one threw itself on top of Reynolds' defense, pounding and slashing at it violently.

Reynolds gave a growl as each pound and punch weakened his shield. He knew right then and there, he was going to lose this match. Even if he does not survive this night, he needed to send a message to the Psychonauts of this new threat. Focusing half his power elsewhere, a pen scribbled on a piece of scratch paper near his phone.

The shield shattered and Reynolds gave out a strangled cry. The pen snapped in two and spilled ink all over his message. His body was found a day later when his neighbor came over to borrow four eggs for a cake she was making. She thought he died of a heart attack.

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"Aw, damn it," Lili hissed at herself. A giant glob of marinara sauce splattered across her biology book, quickly spreading to the corners of the page.

Such is the dangers of eating lasagna while reading. Lili brandished a napkin in a vain attempt to clean up the accursed stain. Fighting a losing battle, she rubbed the red glob into her expensive text book, leaving four pages with identical pink spots.

1:14 in the afternoon, the brunette was taking the rest period between classes to have lunch. Her spider sense _told_ her not to order the lasagna. The sixth sense warned her of such things, but she ignored it. The smell of the cheese and meat was too much for her to deny. After all, it was just lunch in the cafeteria. What could go wrong?

"I hate it when that happens."

Lili lifted her head, saw Lionel smiling down on her, and wished she was anywhere but here. The shirt she wore was low cut and the angle she sat gave him a very nice view of the girls. Her foundation was almost gone; she was planning to touch her makeup after lunch. And to top the cake off, her mouth was full of pasta goodness and a dribble of sauce went down her chin.

Lionel pretended not to see. "May I sit with you?"

Lili could only nod. She swallowed (and almost choked) on that un-chewed piece of pasta, wiped the offending sauce away and prayed to god her eye shadow wasn't smeared.

"Biology," Lionel read upside down. "Do you have Mrs. Weaver?"

Another unspoken head nod.

"I have her during the night. Less people. Is it true the morning class has two hundred students?"

It was true. The classroom mimicked a movie theatre, spanning about three hundred seats across. Their teacher. Mrs. Weaver, had to use a microphone in order for the students in the back to hear. Lili learned very quickly she would have to engage in battle to get the seats up front. For her first class, she made the mistake in coming in late and was forced to sit in the back. Her third eye was aching from trying to get a better look at the board.

Ever so the creative one, she nodded again.

Lionel drummed his fingers. "Are you upset with me?"

"It's not that," Lili said, patting down any loose hair strays. "You caught me in a rather embarrassing moment."

Lionel laughed. "Good," He added quickly seeing the look on her face. "By being embarrassed means you actually care what I think about you."

"Oh, is that how you get girls? You wait till they food in their mouths to come over and talk to them?"

"Of course. I've been sitting in that corner for twenty minutes waiting for an opportunity to rise."

"Bastard," Lili said laughing.

The mood improved. Luckily Lili finished most of her lasagna so she didn't mind leaving the rest to age as she talked to Lionel freely. They focused on simple topics; school, classes, teachers, dorms and such. When they began sharing feelings about Mr. Meyers and his training from hell, they eventually fell on the subject of Raz.

"I don't think I ever seen anybody move so fast," Lionel said with admiration, talking about the fight. "You kicked ass."

"Thanks," Lili said halfheartedly. She wanted to get off the subject.

"That Aquato guy…do you know him?"

Was he fishing for information? What kind? She decided to play dumb.

"What makes you think that?" She took a drink of her water to act nonchalant.

"Because who your father is. You're Truman's Zanotto's daughter, right?"

Very impressive. Her father stepped down from president when she was thirteen. Very few people remembered who he was. Even so, Lili tried to keep her last name away from the limelight or else she'll have half of the student body kissing her ass.

"I'm surprised," She said, still not giving anything away. "Most people don't remember any of the Psychonaut presidents before Alice John."

"How could I not know who he is? Truman Zanotto established the scholarships I have. Without those, I wouldn't be here."

He spoke sincerely. Something told her he wasn't after her money, her power or her father. As much as she liked to believe that, experience told her to keep her distance. If she had a dime for every guy she dumped because they were only after her position…

Lili raised her cup to take another drink, this time to hide her red cheeks. Her eyes casually cast aside to the cafeteria doors, focusing on nothing.

A sheen of bright brown hair caught her attention. Raz.

"Oh crap," Lili muttered very unlady like.

"What?" Lionel twisted in his seat to see what's going on. "Speak of the devil…"

"I gotta hide," Lili shoved her stained book into her bag.

"Why?"

"Because-"

_We have history. Too much history I don't want resurface. _

"I punched him in the jaw only a few days ago. Would _you _want to talk to him after that?"

"You have a point there," He looked around. "There," he pointed to the back doors. "I'll carry your books out as you go intangible."

Lili smiled then disappeared. If anybody had been looking, they would have seen a chair pushed out by itself.

Lionel shouldered her bag and went for the back doors, trying to look normal.

"You know you're going to have to face him at some point," He whispered to the ghost girl as they past the Psychonaut.

"Shut up," Said the disembodied voice.

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Immediately afterwards, they had to part ways. Lionel had a lecture he needed to attend. He left Lili with a promise they have lunch tomorrow afternoon.

As glad as she was he was taking it slow, she couldn't help but feel frustrated he hadn't asked her out yet. Lunch together isn't really considered a date.

"Unless you're going on a date with your _father…" _

On today's agenda, she has _Long Distance Telepathy _with an Angel Reed. Unlike her biology class, which held half of earth's population, this class had less than twenty students. In order to even be _qualified _for the class, students need to take a placement exam, obtain four references and sign up half a year early.

Taking a note from yesterday's disaster in her biology class, Lili got to the room early. Twenty minutes early.

Nobody was there. Not even the teacher.

Lili sighed. She took a seat in the middle of the room and took out her unusually small text book.

Five minutes later, somebody came into the room. Lili raised her head to see another female student walk in. The two share a polite smile. Lili went back to her book as the girl took her own seat in the back.

_Telepathy is not only a sense of communication, but a sense of connection. Telepathy is also one of few powers both psychics and mundane have. Such a connection more often than enough has been called:_

_A mother's love._

_Two fetuses, one brain._

_Soul mates._

_Studies have shown people who are more intimate with each other can 'sense' each other's attitudes. However, people who share a close blood bond (For example, twins) can 'sense' each other half way across the earth. There has been cases in which one twin dies on one side of the world, and the other twin automatically knows._

Somebody took the seat next to her. She was too enthralled in her read to bother to look up again. She'll put the book down once the teacher begins roll call.

_Those who share such a bond but do not share DNA are known as Soul Mates._

_A poll taken in America in 1997 has shown that 63 believe in soul mates. Only less than 10 believe they've married their soul mate._

_But because such a phenomenal cannot be proven scientifically, most scientists scoff at the theory._

_However, it has been proven when two psychics share a bond of blood or love, their connection to one another increase by thirty percent._

"My jaw still hurts."

In that split nano second, Lili's heart stopped. Literally stopped.

Her head snapped up and the top of her skull smacked Raz across the chin.

"Arrgh!" Raz cried out, cupping his jaw. "Right in the same spot, too!"

Lili had the urge to run. To push Raz over and run. At least in Mr. Meyers class, she could easily melt into the background. She could not do that here. There wasn't enough students.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_

Why was she spending so much energy trying to avoid him? Why was she wasting time trying to avoid him? Yes, she did not want to start any type of friendship with him, but this was getting ridiculous. This was stupid. She was acting stupid. And Lili Zanotto does not act stupid.

"Why do you keep saying 'stupid' over and over again? Are you insulting me?"

Lili snapped her mouth close. She had spent years training her mind to prevent people from accidentally reading her mind. Now here she was, _voicing _her thoughts instead. Nice one Lili.

"No…" She said, feeling her cheeks heat up from embarrassment. "I'm…just thinking out loud."

"Be careful with that. Somebody may be listening," He grinned, laughing off her embarrassment.

Awkward silence.

"Sorry I hit you," Lili said quietly after a moment. "I didn't expect you to be in this class."

"I didn't expect _you _to be in this class. I'm not sure I like idea of you kicking my ass in two classes."

This made her giggle. He was trying to disperse the tension in the air.

"I didn't catch your name from last time," Raz said. "Your name tag was obscured by your fist."

Lili pursed her lips. Once again, she considered running away. She considered lying to him. She considered yelling at him, throwing her water bottle in his face and stalk away in an overly dramatic strut.

All, of course, were childish and pointless decisions. She knew this was going to happen sooner or later.

She took an intake of breath to calm her nerves. "I'm-"

The door to the classroom flew open creating a loud BANG. A tall woman, what Lili could only assume was the teacher, walked in. "Oh man," She heard Raz moan on the side. "Not another Mr. Meyers."

Professor Reed scratched her name across the blackboard. She turned to everyone and smiled. _Hello students! _A voice echoed in everybody's head. _I am Professor Angel Reed. And this is Long Distance Telepathy. How is everyone today?_

There was a short round of "Good," and "Fine."

_No, no, _Reed muttered in their minds. _Speak to me through your minds._

There was a moment of silence. Reed smiled.

_Good! I am glad! Now don't worry, I won't talk to you through your psychics like this all the time. Hearing me blabber will only break your concentration. So…_

"I want everyone to find the very first person they talked to. Even if you only said one word. So please, stand up and sit next to that person."

Raz smiled at Lili, glad he didn't have to move. Lili only gave a half lobbed grin.

"Has everyone found their person? Good. Please introduce yourself to your permanent partner for the rest of the year."

Lili's face fell. _Oh, fuc-_

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A/N: On Zero-A.C's bio, he/she has links to the Whispering Rock campers Myspace accounts. Whether these are real or just fan made, they're _hilarious _to read. And if these were made by the producers, it gives a lot of info on them. For example, we find out Lili's mom, is in fact, alive! (Everyone assumed she was dead. Heh…) Bobby is REALLY disturbed, Makhail is a big jerk, and Crystal's photos make me want to cry in horror.

Anyhoo, R/R!


	4. Later that day

There were moans of protests. Some wanted to be partnered with their friends. Others wanted to be partnered with their boy/girlfriends. One person actually said out loud, "This person smells bad. He's the reason why I changed seats!"

"Calm down," Reed motioned everyone to sit with her hands. "I have a rational explanation. I want you to ask yourself: Why did I meet this person first? Even if your first words were of malice, there was a reason why you two met. For every action, there's a reaction. And from our actions, we change our future. Does anybody know what I'm talking about?"

Few shook their heads. Others shrugged. When Lili saw nobody, not even Raz was going to speak up; she sighed and raised her hand.

"The butterfly affect," Lili muttered after she was called on.

"Yes!" Reed cried out, clapping her hands like a small child. "Even though most psychics don't agree, I believe every action, every step; every breath changes the course of our future. This class is about connection. And I know everyone wants to be with somebody they know, but we cannot ignore the signs placed in front of us. There is a reason why we met this way. There is a reason why you all met. And I want you to explore that reason.

That's why I want you all to spend the rest of today getting to know your partner. Class dismissed."

People hesitated. Class only started eight minutes ago. Was she really letting them all go that early?

"Yes I am," Reed said after reading their thoughts. "Now, shoo! Shoo!"

Nobody needed to be told twice. Everyone gathered their things and ran out of the classroom as if it was on fire. Outside, a few partners began talking to one another, introducing themselves and sharing information. Other partners simply exchanged emails then separated.

Raz walked alongside Lili. Their class was supposed to be a three hour long lecture. Now, they had three extra hours to kill. Three hours to get to know each other.

"My name is Lilianna," Lili suddenly blurted out. She mentally smacked herself. She just gave him her full name.

"Lilianna?" Raz repeated. "That's a nice name. Better than Razputin. I think I was named after some Russian guy."

"…Zanotto."

Raz paused in mid step. He turned to look at her, his brow furrowing. He opened his mouth to say something then closed it.

His green eyes searched her face, studying her features. When he said her name again, he said it in an unsure manner. It was as if he thought he was dreaming.

"…Lili…?"

Lili gave a half hearted grin. "Hi Raz."

Raz's jaw dropped. His book that was hovering next to him fell out of the air. A plant outside caught on fire. Lili was pretty sure that was just coincidence.

"_Lili…?" _He said again in disbelief. His eyes darted over her face, her body, his mouth still open. (Lili noted he paused when his eyes passed over her breasts. Men.)

"Close your mouth or else the flies will get in." She snapped at him, folding her arms over her chest. She should've changed shirts before class.

He broke out into an uneasy grin. "I remember that tone. But is it really you?"

Lili huffed. She wasn't expecting this much of a reaction. Of course, she's choosing to overlook her own episode. "Yes it's me. Have I really changed that much?"

Raz half shrugged. "…Yeah, actually. I mean, in my mind, you're still ten years old. Your hair is shorter. You've gotten taller. Your-" His eyes rested on her chest again. "You're wearing pants instead of a skirt. My childhood image of you has fallen on itself."

Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

Raz began beeping. He slapped a hand over his hip and unhooked a green beeper. He stared at it and frowned. "I gotta go," He said to Lili. His fallen book lifted into his arms and before he left he said to her, "Let's have coffee tonight at that café, Dart&Target. Seven okay for you? Good. I'll see you then."

Lili stayed rooted in her spot stunned. The situation went completely different in her head. Half of her brain imagined Raz unable to recognize her name or face. They ended up going through the whole semester without any awkwardness and in the end, Raz left, never to be seen again.

The other half imagined Raz getting so angry at her for punching him in the face, they would engage in an epic battle, right there in the middle of the hallway. Eventually the teachers pull them apart and expel them both.

She _really _over exaggerated the situation.

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Lili Zanotto.

His mind was reeling.

So many memories exploded violently in his mind. Most of them he had not thought of in years. Of course he would never forget Whispering Rock. How could he forget all that went on there? How could he forget that was the day he became an official Psychonaut?

He could not think of that now. Not now. He had a job to do.

Raz landed just a touch outside of the perimeter of the crime scene. Had he been wearing his official Psychonaut uniform, he could have easily waltzed straight in. He was called straight from school and did not have a chance to change out of his street clothes. He took a moment to pat down his winded hair and took out his gold Psychonaut badge.

He passed the other psychics who were keeping an eye out outside. Raz flashed his gold badge at them. The copper badge Psychonaut nodded and pointed to the open door of a house.

Inside, silver badge Psychonauts were carefully scouring the crime scene. Some were taking pictures while others were dusting for fingerprints. Raz went straight to where the body laid.

"I'm Agent Aquato," Raz flashed his badge to the woman who was leaning over the body. "Please update me what has happened here."

The woman made a face. "You're the head agent?" The woman said in disbelief. "What are you, twenty?"

"Nineteen, actually. You are?"

"Agent Sheppard."

"Okay Agent Sheppard. Are you going to fill me in or do you wish to see if my other testicle has dropped?"

Sheppard was taken back. It was common for Raz to receive such hostility from other Agents because of his age. He learned the best way to deal with it, is to go straight to the point. This woman may be fifteen years his senior, but it doesn't change the fact that Raz was higher ranking than her.

"Robert Reynolds," Sheppard said after her shock from Raz's crude answer. "Age seventy-four. He was found dead only an hour ago by his neighbor, Miss Debra Higgens."

Raz looked over the body. Reynolds was laying on his back, his eyes half closed and his mouth slack open. His armless torso, although visually disturbing, was not an injury. Otherwise there'll be more blood. The floor was clean.

"Is Higgens a mundane?"

"Yes."

"Was he?"

"Reynolds retired from all Psychonaut duties eleven years ago. He is considered a mundane in the files."

Raz carefully looked over the body. "I don't see any wounds. How did he die?"

"I was about to do that when you came in," She drawled. Raz threw her a look and she quickly added in, "…Sir."

"Go ahead then," Raz said to her in a no-argument tone.

Sheppard went on her knees in front of the body. She placed two fingers to her temple and hovered the other hand above Reynold's head. She closed her eyes.

It is physically impossible to retrieve memories from a dead body. That is not what Sheppard is trying to do. By using her third eye, she can expertly and bloodlessly perform an autopsy. She is looking for both physical and psychic causes to Reynolds death.

She needed peace and quiet to carefully search through the body. In the meantime, Raz went to the other Psychonaut agents in the house. These copper badge wearing agents were collecting evidence and snapping photos. Raz ignored the scorched carpet and the thrown couch. He was more interested in what the agents were doing in the kitchen.

"The body is over there. Why are you looking here?"

This agent, also much older than Raz, held up an inked soaked notepad for him to see. "This pad reeks of psychic energy. I think the victim was trying to write something down before he died."

"Can you read any of the indentations left behind?"

"It'll take some time. Possibly a couple of hours to clean off the ink and scour through all other written notes."

It didn't give Raz much to work with. The only evidence he could go on was the body and the obvious fight taken place inside the home. Except, who would want to kill a seventy-four old man? An old enemy? Why wait so long though? Who would gain from his death?

"Agent Aquato," Sheppard motioned him over. "I've found the cause of death: Cerebral conglomeration."

"In English…?"

"Somebody scrambled his brains."

Raz frowned. He has never heard such a thing. "I never heard such a thing."

Sheppard explained. "I've only seen it three times in my life. Basically what has happened, a person went into his psyche and tore it up as if it was tissue paper."

"Why?" Raz said mostly to himself. "To drive him insane?" He shook his head. "No, there are easier and much more painful ways to do that." He looked to Sheppard. "You said you've seen this happen before. What was the reason behind those incidents?"

"The first two happened with kids who were experimenting with their psychic powers and had no idea what they were doing. One kid was accidentally killed, and the other was paralyzed for life."

_None of which has nothing to do with this. _"And the third?" Raz asked her.

Sheppard shook her head and got this strange look on her face. "I did the autopsy on Agent Christine Drawn. Because she was undercover at time of her death, my superiors thought she was discovered and killed. Her murderer has yet to be caught."

"How long ago did this happen?"

"A month," Sheppard sighed. "But she went undercover in Argentina. There can't be a connection."

"Two Psychonauts killed in the same fashion is too much of a coincidence. Until proven otherwise, we have to assume Reynolds' killer is one in the same," Raz stood and took a glance at his watch. He would not have to meet with Lili for another five hours. "I want you to get me the files on both Reynolds and Drawn. I want to know if they worked together on a case."

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The coffee shop Raz had suggested for them to met at had more people than a New York street in December. If there was a space available, it was occupied within seconds. Lili had to practically fight in order to get the table she currently sat at. The table was a small simple thing, only able to seat no more than two.

Many people threw Lili evil glares because she refuses to give up the unavailable seat across from her. She was, of course, saving it for Raz.

A random girl came up to her. "You know, _other _people would like to use that table."

"Finders keepers," Lili said as she sipped her tea.

The girl's blue eyes narrowed at her. Lili could feel her gathering psychic energy and concentrating it on top of brunette's head. Damn bitch was trying to set her on fire.

Taking another sip of tea, Lili easily severed the connection between them.

The girl gasped. She took a step back, eyeing the brunette in front of her. Like an animal sensing it's own weakness, the girl gave a hurtful growl, turned and left. Lili smirked into her cup of chamomile.

_Don't tug on Superman's cape._

Raz was late. Only ten minutes late, but still, when a girl takes time out of her schedule to doll herself up, at least have the decency to come on time.

_No, _Lili had to remind herself. This is not a date. And she didn't dress as well as she would have if she _was _on a date. A nice blouse, black slacks and a simple hairdo. She didn't even wear any perfume.

Still, it was annoying for her to defend an empty seat. Until Raz shows up, that girl will certainly not be the last person Lili will have to fight tonight.

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Raz threw down the tethered folder and rubbed his tired eyes. Across from him, Sheppard wearily went on; reading and rereading every file on the table. She had to make sure they weren't overlooking something. After a few minutes, she too gave up.

"Nothing," She said sourly. "I don't see a connection. Perhaps there isn't a connection."

"There's a connection," Raz said, his eyes red and tired. "It's just not on files."

"Richards was American, Drawn was British. Richards was in his seventies, Drawn was in her mid-thirties. Neither of them worked a single case together. According to these files, they never even met. I don't know Aquato…I think their deaths are merely coincidental."

"There are no coincidences," Raz muttered into his hands. He was simply repeating what he heard from Professor Reed today.

Through the thick fog of exhaustion, the name "Reed" sprung up an odd familiar feeling inside him. An itch. It needed to be scratch. Because something about it told him he was forgetting…

Sheppard jumped in surprise as Raz suddenly went on his feet. In a panicked motion, he checked his watch.

It was 7:56.

"Oh _crap!" _He yelled. "I'm late!"

"Late for what?" Sheppard asked befuddled.

Raz had to push Lili out of his mind because he had to focus on work. Now that things have calmed down, his thoughts shifted back to his old childhood friend. A childhood friend, he recalled, who liked using her fists to express her anger.

"Beep me if anything comes up!" Raz yelled over his shoulder. Without waiting for a reply, Raz did a small double jump before his levitation took hold and flew off into the night. The police station he had spent the last five hours at was ten miles away from the university. Even by flight, the trip was going to take roughly fifteen minutes.

Lili was going to kill him.

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A/N: I usually try to make each chapter at least a thousand words long. But with this fic, I can oddly easily break two thousand…This chapter was hard to write though. I hope you guys enjoyed it!

**Kodra: **I know how you feel. It's hard to determine what kind of person a child character becomes when they grow up. And if I do it wrong, people lose interest. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	5. Today

7: 38.

She waited long enough.

As soon as Lili got up from that small table, nine people dived for the chairs. Her empty cold tea cup was knocked over and shattered on the ground. Two guys broke out into a yelling match about who got what chairs. Chaos ensued.

Eyes down at the ground, Lili followed her feet out the door and into the night. She could have easily signaled down a cab, except she did not wish to talk to anybody at the moment. Not even to tell the driver a single direction. She was afraid of what she might say or do.

She was pissed.

Had she been five years younger, she would have expressed this anger. Street lamps would explode, bushes would catch on fire, unsuspecting people would suddenly lose their hat as it queerly destroys itself. As a young adult, such actions are below her. Her days of setting people on fire are long gone.

Except, she really, really, _really _would like to turn Raz into a human barbeque.

What was he trying to do, send a point home? "I didn't like you then and I don't like you now?" Even if that wasn't the case, he could at least have the courtesy to say he wasn't coming. Instead, she had to endure almost forty minutes of looking like a dejected idiot at the most popular coffee shop on campus.

In her own anger bubble, Lili almost didn't see the girl in front of her blocking her path.

"Remember me, bitch?"

Lili took her eyes off her feet and looked up. It was the girl from the café.

Lili chose not to answer her and tried to move past. The girl moved in front of her. Lili deeply frowned. "I'm only going to say this once. _Get out of my way."_

Another girl came out of the darkness. "You sound so sad. What's the matter, got stood up?"

"You shouldn't have mess with Nessa," A guy entered the scene and draped his arm over Café girl's shoulders. "She doesn't take kindly to mean people."

They surrounded her. Lili could feel the psychic energy coming off of them in waves. It was a threat, telling her that things are about to get nasty.

Had it been anybody else, they would've been shaking in their boots in fear. One person to take on three psychics? Impossible.

Nessa expected this dark gloomy girl to start crying, begging for forgiveness. She may not have been able to take this girl on in a fair fight, but let's see how well she reacts when the odds are not in her favor.

Her smug grin vanished the moment Lili shrugged thoughtlessly.

"If you're going to do this, then do it," Lili told them. "Fair warning though, having two extra people is not going to make a difference."

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_He was getting oh so tired of this. He was tired of the fighting, of the pain he caused. He didn't want to. He _had _to._

_Why were they so stubborn? All of them! None wanted to give him what he needed. There were nineteen on his list and he has already gone through fourteen of them. Fourteen Psychonauts and not one was a proven result. _

_Were they all like this? Does that mean_ _all of his work has been in vain? If only he could get his hands on Truman Zanotto…_

_But alas, he was too well guarded. Too well trained. Going after him is suicide._

_Who else could he go after?_

_Jose' Vasquez. He's next on the list._

_Teresa James. Then her._

_Sasha Nein. Not him. Although Nein has seen the White Room, it was too risky to quarrel with him. Not only powerful, the man was a recluse. _

_Lilianna Zanotto. Truman's daughter. Another risk factor. The dark man does not know the range of her strength. No, like Nein, she would have to stay at the bottom of choices._

_But if Vasquez and James fail to give him what he wants, then Zanotto's daughter will jump to the top of the list._

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Day two of Meyers' class from hell. The atmosphere this time around was different. Nobody spoke any louder than a whisper, all of the girls wore shirts, and nobody sat. Meyers had yet to show his face.

Popularity has its price. As soon as Raz entered the gym, he was immediately surrounded by his female (and male) admirers. Lili kept to the back, making an effort not to come any closer or to have eye contact with the Psychonaut. She kept all her focus on Lionel, who seemed oblivious to the whole ordeal.

Raz _really _wanted to talk to Lili. He wanted to apologize for last night. Unfortunately, he couldn't tear himself away from his edger fans without being rude. He'll have to wait till after class or during Miss Reed's class.

The doors to the gym swung open violently and an angry Meyers walked in. He probably always looks like that. Upon seeing him, Raz's little fan club broke and everyone stood at attention.

"I have with me," Meyers announced out loud, "a list of groups I'm putting you in. The groups are separated by the least experienced to the most experienced. When I call out your name, go stand in your designated corners. In this corner, Cooper, Jacobs, McHale…"

It was actually quite embarrassing. Meyers basically singled out each and every person their level of strength. As the level went up, the number of people went down. "Toriyumi, Ball, Brown-"

Called by his last name, Lionel gave Lili a small smile as he went to join the average group.

Lili's name had not yet been called.

Finally, the last group. The strongest group. "Wilks, Zanotto, Grayson and Aquato. What I want today is for everyone to maintain floatation at ten feet. I'll come and help anyone who needs it. This is endurance, so try your hardest. Go!"

Lili didn't what she was more upset about; the fact that she got put into a group with Raz (again) or the fact that Meyers is forcing her to practice her worst used power. Bad enough he singled her out as one of the strongest. Now if she even falters just once while hovering, the other students will certainly notice.

Growling to herself, she seated herself down, crossing her legs. She closed her eyes and focused her energy. Slowly she rose to ten feet. Others soon followed.

She didn't know how long she had to hover. Possibly for only ten minutes, perhaps for the whole class period. Her limit was ten minutes. Fifteen if she concentrated hard enough. With renew determination, Lili blanked the world away to focus.

She felt a familiar psychic aura come near her.

"Lili," she heard him speak in a low voice. "I want to apologize for last night."

Ignore him? Acknowledge then ignore him? Already by hearing his voice, she felt her concentration slipping away. She decided to play dumb. "About what?"

"For not showing up last night. Things…happened last night. I'm sorry if I made you wait."

It was a sincere apology. But in Lili's mind, it wasn't enough. _Things happened last night_? It sounded very much like the piss poor excuses her father gave her when he didn't show up at her birthday party. Or when he didn't come home for dinner. She understood that being a Psychonaut is a very important and demanding job, but it didn't mean she had to like it.

"You're forgiven," She said quickly, not really feeling the forgiveness towards him. That done, she went back into her mind to focus.

Somewhere off in the distance, she heard Meyers talking to one of the other students, correcting him (or her) on their technique. As if Raz was making sure that Meyers had his attention elsewhere, did he let this bomb off.

"Lili, I may have to arrest you."

"_What?" _Her eyes flew open and she dropped three feet before catching herself.

Raz looked perfectly comfortable hovering in front of her. He had no problem holding his position. "Last night when I was coming to the Dart&Target, I passed three beaten individuals on the street. They said they were attacked by a young dark haired woman."

Lili snorted. "That could've been anyone."

"Except there was psychic residue left behind. _Yours. _And that is enough evidence for me to bring you in."

"Those bastards attacked me!"

"Even if it was in self defense, what you did to them went beyond that."

Lili couldn't argue. Because whether she wanted to admit it or not, he was right. She's too old to be acting on her temper tantrums. She could've disarmed her attackers. Not punched them, kicked them, shaved their heads and then left them hanging upside down.

Suddenly the reality of her actions brought true dread to her. If she was arrested, she could be expelled from college. Her face went pale.

"After class I'm going have to bring you in," Raz told her. He paused. "…Unless…"

Lili raised an eyebrow at him. "Unless what?"

"Unless you forgive me with real emotion this time."

Lili's ears went scarlet. "You asshole!" She hissed at him. "You scared the wits out of me just so I can say 'You're forgiven' to you?"

Raz tried to keep his face solemn. His lips then twitched, curled into a smile and he started giggling. "Oh gosh, I forgot how much fun it is to mess with you."

Lili's cheeks matched her ears. With a scowl, she turned her back to him. "I take back my forgiveness!"

"C'mon Lili…" He floated in front of her, that damn smile still on his face. "I really am sorry about not showing up last night. But seriously, you shouldn't take your anger out on strangers. Had you broken any bones, I would've been forced to take you in."

"Thank goodness for small favors," She rolled her eyes. But the malice behind the act wasn't there. Amazingly enough, she didn't feel angry at him anymore. Annoyed, but not angry.

How odd.

"Zanotto!" Lili snapped to attention at Meyers booming voice. "Why are you faltering?"

She was shocked to find herself levitating at seven feet than the required ten.

"Perhaps I was wrong in reading you," The teacher from hell yelled. "Maybe you should be in the group a level down."

Lili gritted her teeth. Although it would be a blessing to be in a weaker group; (she could be with Lionel and nobody would expect much from her) she was being challenged by her teacher. She has never backed down from a challenge.

A streak of pain went through her brain as she forced herself to levitate back up at ten feet. She held it. Meyers kept his eyes on her for a good minute before turning away to another poor student.

The pain in her head kept throbbing and she ignored it as best as she could. She had to keep this up for at least another thirteen minutes. Hopefully by then, Meyers will have them do something else.

Raz floated in front of her eye level. He looked so _damn _comfortable. "Do you need help?"

Lili glared at him. "No."

"Really? Cause it looks like you do."

"Go 'way," She said to him through gritted teeth.

Raz held his arms up in defense and said, "Fine. But if you do need help, I'm just a few inches over here."

With a drop of sweat running down her cheek, Lili was glad he didn't put up more of a fight. He was acting too 'buddy-buddy' with her and she didn't like it. It was all too quick, all too soon.

Except seventeen minutes later, she was regretting her decision. It seemed Meyers was going to have them hover for the whole class period.

She had another thirty seconds in her, tops. She didn't know why she sucked so bad at levitation. It was probably because she spent so much time honing her pyrokinesis, she never bothered to master her levitation.

Five seconds left. What's going to happen if Meyers sees her? Will he treat her like some weakling or will he acknowledge that levitation is her only weak point? Something told her it wasn't going to be the latter.

That was it. Lili felt her mind lose control of the air around her and the psychic connection suddenly gave way.

She braced herself for that painful moment of when her body hits the mat. She braced herself for when Meyers starts screaming at her, embarrassing her in front of all her classmates.

She never fell.

At first, she didn't understand. She should've dropped out of the sky like a stone. How was she still levitating? She wasn't concentrating anymore…

She turned her head to Raz. He wasn't smiling at her, or talking to anybody else in their group. He sat cross legged ten feet in the air, with his eyes closed and his face masked in concentration. Out coming from him, was thin string of psychic energy.

He was holding her up.

At first she was appalled; apparently Raz had no confidence in her. He didn't believe she could do this all on her own.

She mentally slapped herself. _He just saved your ass! Stop being so proud!_

As much as the feminist voice in her head wanted to protest, she was actually quite grateful for his help.

Raz opened one solitary green eye at her. She mouthed the words, _Thank you. _He grinned (rather smugly) and closed his eye again.

Forty-five minutes later, Meyers dismissed the class. Students walked out of the gym moaning, holding their heads from headaches. Near the end, quite a number of students lost their concentration and fell. Some were holding sore bottoms or bruised backs.

"Thanks for the help," Lili said with a hint of red in her cheeks. "Appreciate it."

Raz was out of breath but looked as if he could endure another thirty minutes. "Heh, it wouldn't be the first time I saved your butt. Remember?"

Lili rolled her eyes. "How could I forget? It's not every day you're kidnapped by a deranged dentist."

He laughed. "So, you wanna go have lunch?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you going to come this time?"

"I'm here, aren't I? What are you in the mood for? Mexican, Italian, burgers…?"

"Um…" Lili looked over her clothes. "Do you mind waiting a half hour so both of us can take a shower and change?"

Raz took note of his sweat covered tee. "Oh right. Do you want to meet in front of the cafeteria at 12:30?"

"12:30," She confirmed.

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_Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh…_

Lili stormed into her dorm room and slammed the door behind her with more force than necessary. Her roommate, a dark haired girl named Donna, stirred in her sleep. Lili always found Donna's sleep habits rather disturbing, but now she was glad the girl was unconscious. No questions to be asked.

Lili sat down on her bed, placing a hand over her mouth. She can't believe what just happened.

She vowed she was going to be angry at him for at least another week. Hopefully by then, Raz would back off and that would be the end of that.

This…this she did not expect.

She didn't expect him to be sincerely apologetic. She didn't expect him to give her that crazy grin of his.

She didn't expect to feel butterflies in her stomach.

That squishy, fluttering feeling in the pit of her abdomen left her giddy. Was this feeling real or was she simply acting on old feelings? It made her afraid. It made her excited. Very few boys made her stomach act this way.

She had to calm herself down. If she started expecting things to happen and they didn't, she'll only disappoint herself. He could have a girlfriend, for god's sake. Hell, he could be engaged. This was nothing more than lunch between two old friends.

Grabbing a fresh white towel, Lili went off towards the dorm showers. She had only a half hour to get clean and doll herself up.

She was going to have lunch with an international famous Psychonaut. Can you believe it?

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For the first time in years, his palms were sweaty.

In the past nine years of his life, Razputin Aquato has done some pretty spectacular things. He has saved children from burning buildings. He battled against some of the world's most terrifying psychic terrorists. He even once stopped a tsunami from crashing into Hawaii by teaming up with one hundred and twenty-three other psychics.

Who knew talking to a girl would scare the shit out of him.

Oh, there were plenty of girls in his life. There was Sarah, a Psychonaut in training. He met her when he was fourteen and they dated for a few months. But assignments took them to different parts of the world and he eventually lost track of her. Last he heard, she was somewhere in Turkey.

Then there was Lucia, a girl he saved when a bridge in Ontario collapsed. She was a beauty, but Raz had felt no attraction to her. She was too high maintenance for his gypsy background to handle.

After that, there were a whirlwind of girls. Some he loved, some he hated, some who only wanted him for his status and money.

And then there was Lili. The girl he barely knew, but never forgotten. The girl he called his girlfriend, but never really knew if he loved her.

She was the first girl he kissed. The first girl who made him feel funny inside. And now after almost a ten year absence, he met her again. Is that coincidence or what?

Oh sure, he's been taught there are no coincidences. But he has also been taught the future is not set in stone. It may have been fate to meet with Lili Zanotto after all these years, but the real reason may not be what he thinks. Or what she thinks.

Gosh she's changed. She wasn't a little girl anymore, she was a _woman. _The mental image of the girl he once saved shattered in his mind. He can't ignore how tall she's gotten. He can't get over how soft her lips look. He can't help but notice how big her bre-

The only thing that hasn't changed is her personality. She is still the little fireball he remembered. She even blushes as easily as she did when she was a kid.

With a smile tugging at his lips, Raz brushed down the last of his hair. To be perfectly frank, he misses the old days at Whispering Rock. He loves being a Psychonaut, don't get him wrong, but just like doctors, Psychonauts rarely get days off. He misses being able to mess around with friends, have long lunches and sleeping in. Meeting Lili is like a blast from the past. She reminded him of younger days. He misses his _friends._

The green beeper sitting on his dresser suddenly went off. Raz groaned inwardly. That meant only one thing: He had work to do.

He snatched the beeper off the dresser with a hint of anger and looked at it. _We have the last written words of Robert Reynolds. Come down to the police station._

Damn it. Had this information been anything else, Raz would've just ignored it. This however regarded the _murder _of a Psychonaut. This was something he cannot ignore or push aside for later.

Damn it. He was going to have to cancel his lunch with Lili. Again.

He laughed bitterly to the silence. At least this time he'll cancel it to her face.

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Maybe she over did it.

She didn't realized it herself until she stepped outside. She felt confident in her walk, she felt confident in her looks. It wasn't until guys started whistling at her as she passed did she realize how attractive she looked.

She curled her hair, she wore perfume, she put on nice clothes; she even went so far to put on her gold necklace her father gave her on her tenth birthday. Yes indeed, she did go overboard for a lunch- hell, just call it as it is- a _date. _This was a date. A date with Raz.

Oh geez, should she really go through with this? As romantic and fluffy as it sounds, in reality it set warning bells off in Lili's head. It wasn't as if she didn't trust Raz, she just felt she can't rely on him. Rely on him being there and when she needs him to be.

She needed a boyfriend, not a younger version of her father.

Lili shook her head of all those negatives thoughts once she came to the entrance of the cafeteria. She smiled when she saw Raz, already awaiting there for her.

He wasn't smiling.

"Lili, I'm going have to cancel our lunch plans for today. I have Psychonaut business to attend."

_I'm sorry young Lilianna that your father can't be here today for your birthday. He's still in Peru. _

_Young Miss, I'm sorry to say your father won't be coming for dinner tonight. Something came up._

_Oh Miss, I know you're disappointed your father can't be here for Christmas, but we can still have fun!_

She had spent years keeping disappoint out from her eyes. This was no different.

Raz expected Lili to start yelling at him. To look angry or sad. That did not happen. Instead, she smiled gently and said, "That's all right. You have responsibilities."

She didn't seem to be okay with it. But Raz didn't have time to argue. He turned and before levitating away, he said, "I'll see you in class later."

She shrugged indifferent. "Sure, whatever."

Frowning one last time, Raz jumped and then he was airborne. Not bothering to watch him fade into the distance, Lili too left.

Reed was right. They probably were meant to meet again. Except they weren't meant to _be _together.

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A/N: I love writing this fic so much. Dunno why. I just do.

Who is the Dark man? What does he want? And where can I find good shoes at cheap prices? R/R peeps!


	6. A dark day

Could he feel like a bigger douchebag now?

If she had hit him, at least that wouldn't seem so bad. But to see Lili act so…passive…it just wasn't her.

Landing in front of the police station, Raz scowled at red brick building. Maybe it wasn't fate who wanted him and Lili apart. Maybe somebody killed Reynolds just so they can play a sick joke on Raz. Yeah…that's a good reason…

Agent Sheppard and the copper badge Psychonaut from the kitchen greeted him. Actually, Copper (coincidentally enough, that is his name) greeted him and Sheppard nodded to him indifferently. Raz knew she didn't like him. As long as she did her job and not outwardly insult him, he'll let this act of disrespect slide. He didn't care at the moment. "So, what was Reynolds' last written words?"

"Please follow me to the lab, Sir," Copper said to him. "I think it's best you see it for yourself."

Raz followed them to a clean white room in the back of the station. There, he saw Reynolds' note book sitting on a black light, still slightly stained by the ink. Copper picked up on particular page and gave it to Raz. "This is the last thing Reynolds wrote."

_The Dark Man._

Raz frowned. Flipped the page over and saw nothing else. "That's it? What does it mean?"

"We don't know," Sheppard finally spoke. "We were hoping you did. Both you and Reynolds were gold badges; maybe it's something only gold carriers know."

Raz ignores the subtle insult. "…It doesn't say _a_ dark man, it says _the _dark man. It's…a name, it's a title. Of whom…I don't know."

"Well, the other pages in Reynolds' notebook don't help," Sheppard sighed. "It says things like, buy milk, or call Jenny."

Raz mulls this over. "Is there anything like this from Drawn's file?"

Sheppard shook her head. "Nothing."

Something about this isn't right. This can't be just a random killing. Only an idiot would dare go after a Psychonaut. Especially one of such high caliber. "Does this police station have a mind phone?"

Copper pointed to a door. "In there, sir."

"Thanks."

A mind phone, as it's called, is a video phone used and operated only by the Psychonauts. The badges the agents use, act as a phone card to dial headquarters.

Raz closed the door behind him and took off his badge. He shoved it in the little slot and a second later the screen in front of him blinks on. A woman with purple hair greets him.

"_State name and badge number."_

"Aquato, Razputin. Badge: 669021."

"_Welcome Agent Aquato. How may I help you?"_

"I need any information regarding a psychic that goes by the name or title, The Dark Man."

The woman taps away on her computer. _"I'm sorry Agent. You are not authorized for these files."_

Raz was taken back. "Not authorized? I am a gold Agent. How can I not be authorized?"

"_I'm sorry Agent, but only a platinum Agent is allowed to access the files. Is there anything else you want me to get?"_

Raz shook his head. "No, that'll be all." He mumbled.

The woman nodded politely and then the screen went black. Raz removed his badge, frowning deeply.

A platinum Agent? Only a handful of Agents held that honor. What did that mean? Was the Dark Man so powerful only the platinum Agents can handle them? Or was there something in that information so classified, nobody less than President was allowed to see it?

Who could get him the needed information?

Milla Vodello…no, she's gold.

Sasha Nein? If Raz could find him. The man's a recluse.

Ford Cruller? Once again, if Raz could find him. Last he heard Agent Cruller went walking around Whispering Rock and nobody saw him again. The kids claimed he was eaten by one of the psychic bears.

Raz walked out of the mind phone room. "When's Reynolds' funeral?"

"This Saturday." Copper informed him.

"Since Robert Reynold's was a former Psychonaut, all non-active Psychonauts are required to go. I'll see you guys on Saturday."

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Donna jumped when the door to the room burst opened. An angry, red faced Lili stormed in and the door slammed behind her. She threw her purse down on the bed, undid her braid, grabbed a pillow and screamed into it.

Donna cautiously asked, "You okay?"

Lili pulled the pillow away, now smeared with her makeup. "Fine," She hissed.

Not wanting to know (nor caring enough to) Donna flipped over and fell back asleep.

It hurt. It hurt bad. But what did she expect after all? For them to go on a wonderful, romantic date and then suddenly they'd fall in love like two sick puppies? How stupid is she? _How stupid is she?_ She knew this was going to happen. It happened when she was eleven and now it's happening again.

Against her better judgment she said yes. Going against all her experience she found herself attractive to a Psychonaut. She had a better chance dating an astronaut. It's no damn wonder it took Milla and Sasha forever to marry. They didn't have the time.

Lili fell back on her bed, clutching the stained pillow to her chest. She blinked back the tears that stung her eyes.

When Lili was seventeen, she broke up with her long time boyfriend Benjamin Verne. He kept pressuring her to sleep with him. She never did and to this day, she can proudly say she's a virgin.

She didn't cry because it seemed all Benjamin wanted was her body. No, she cried because she realized she didn't love him. That she spent so much time with him, introduced him to her father, meet his family, only to find out she didn't love him. She was _this _close to sleeping with him. She thought she loved him.

Her feelings for Raz are different. Because in her heart she knew this feeling and she had enough experience to tell the difference. And as the memory of a little boy rose up and goose bumps appeared on her flesh, Lili knew this as the truth.

She loved Raz. She always has.

_Oh god, how can she be so stupid?_

Her little red cell phone rang. Lili took a glance at it, hoping it was somebody she can ignore. It was her dad.

"Hello?" She said none too happy.

"_What's wrong Lili? Are you sick?"_

Sure, why not? "Cold."

"_Oh. The reason I called you; a Psychonaut near your school died recently. As you know, tradition dictates that all non-active Psychonauts are to go to the funeral…"_

"And you want me to go in your place," Lili finished for him.

"_If you're too sick, you don't have to."_

"No…I'll be fine. When's the funeral?"

"_Saturday."_

They talked for a few more minutes before Lili made the excuse she had homework to do. She didn't feel like talking anymore.

It was common for Lili to go to special events in place of her father. It was expected. She even went to a few funerals on his behalf so this was nothing new to her. The only problem she might have to make a speech about the deceased.

Lili sat up from her bed. Time to buy a black dress.

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This wasn't the first funeral Raz has been to. And it certainly won't be the last. In his short years of being a Psychonaut, he has to gone to fourteen funerals.

His first funeral was that of a nineteen year old. His name was Nathan Maple. The poor kid was killed when a drunken psychic went mad and began shooting off random psi-beams. Nathan took a direct hit to the head and died instantly.

Raz was thirteen.

It was apparent Reynolds' was a well liked man. Aside from the Psychonauts, there were many mundanes who came. The funeral was held in a beautiful church (Raz has never cared for the gothic dark look most European churches adopted) with large stain glass windows and dozens of flowers. This is the nicest funeral Raz has ever gone to.

Protocol has not changed. Dressed in the official Psychonaut outfit, (he never did find out why a green stripped sweater was their signature wear) and his golden pin on, Raz took his place besides the other agents.

The music began playing. A small piano piece and one by one, people went up to the casket and lit one candle. They would say a small prayer, then sit back down. Raz and the other Psychonauts did not follow this format as their one and only duty was to guard Reynolds' body. Psychonauts always back each other up, even in death.

Outside it started to rain.

"Hello Razputin,"

Raz jumped. Settling himself down next to the young Psychonaut was no other than Sasha Nein himself.

"Sasha!" Raz breathed in disbelief. He hadn't seen his old camp counselor in almost five years. "What are you doing here?"

"For Robert Reynolds. He was one of my teachers when I was younger. When I heard about his death, I came as quickly as I could."

Sasha said this in his usual toneless voice, but Raz had been around him long enough to pick up the subtleties of his emotions. Sasha was clearly upset.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Raz told him.

They sat in silence as Reynolds' grandson lit a candle. There were already over two dozen lit candles and there were plenty of people left in line.

"I heard you are the lead investigator in Mr. Reynolds' murder." Sasha whispered as not to disturb the funeral.

"I am."

"Do you have any leads?"

It was against protocol to discuss cases with outside sources- even if they were fellow Psychonauts. If a person let their thoughts stray, even for a moment, it could jeopardize the whole case.

But Raz knew and trusted Sasha. Sasha's mind is strong enough to hold off any unwanted 'visitors.' "I have one," He told him. "A note Reynolds had written before he died. I think he called his attacker The Dark One."

Sasha's lips tightened.

"When I tried to follow up with any possible information of this dark man, I was denied files."

"Because you're not a platinum agent."

Raz nodded, biting his thumb nail. His eyes settled on Sasha's chest, where a dark silver badge shimmered. "Sasha, can you get me access to those files?"

He didn't answer. The Psychonaut sat in silence and watched Reynolds' family members light their candles. Raz thought he may have overstepped his boundaries and offended him. He kept his mouth shut for the rest of the funeral.

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The sky was dark and grey, reflecting everyone's feelings at the moment. The rain came down in large drops and anybody who didn't have an umbrella got wet. Raz and the other Psychonauts, who are forbidden to use any of their powers during the funeral, stood side by side soaked.

Family members placed Reynolds' coffin into the hearse and drove off. This was a sign that the Psychoanuts had done their duty and could disperse.

A few immediately took off to get out of the rain. Others went back inside the church to help with the cleaning. Raz wanted to talk to Sasha.

A loud thunderous roar echoed in the sky, followed by a blinding flash of lighting. As soon as Raz was in hearing distance of Sasha, Sasha dropped this bomb. "I'm taking you off the case."

Raz blinked in surprise. Did he heard right? "What?"

"Effective immediately. You are to give me all your files on the case and evidence."

"You can't pull-"

"I have every authority," Sasha said, dead serious. "I am a platinum agent. You are not to look any further into this case and if you find anything else, you are to report to me. That's an order."

Raz was shocked. He had never seen Sasha so…well, _too _serious- to a point where he could act so cold towards his friends. "What's going on?" Raz demanded, feeling like Sasha had just stuck a knife in his back. "Is this dark man so dangerous?"

Sasha said nothing further. He simply turned and left. Perhaps that's all Raz needed to know.

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She knew he would be here. Now it was a question whether she should talk to him, or avoid him. If she tried to talk to him specifically, people might construed that as flirting. Flirting at a funeral? Hoo yeah, that'll go down nicely.

But she is the daughter of a politician. And he's one of the highest ranking Psychonauts here. If she didn't talk to him, it might be seen as disrespectful.

In the end, she stopped caring. Her father _was _the president of the Psychonauts. It shouldn't matter anymore if she was there or not. Nobody noticed her. Nobody talked to her. Why should she still be bound to the rules and regiment of a life she left so long ago?

Lili leaned on the church door frame and watched as family members placed Reynolds' casket inside the hearse. Once the dark depressing car drove away, everyone went their separate ways. She looked on as the Psychonauts took flight immediately to go back to work. Others jumped in their cars, while some simply walked away with their head low.

That's when she spotted Raz.

At the distance she was at, she could see him talking to – is that…Sasha? – a tall man in a white coat. Lili could see Raz was quite upset towards Sasha; his voice got louder and his hand movements more erratic.

Sasha said one last thing, then turned and walked away.

Raz was left in the rain. From where she stood, Lili could not see his face. His shaking fists and bowed head gave enough information. A part of her told her this wasn't any of her business and that she should leave.

The other part, her heart (she guesses) told her as a _friend, _she should go over there.

Summoning a shield to float above her head, she walked out into the rain towards him. She made an effort to make her high heel shoes click clack against the side walk to announce to him her presence, but he seemed oblivious to everything around him. His fists were at his side and his head bowed almost in defeat.

"Raz?" She said softly as not to startle him.

She flinched as his head suddenly snapped up to look at her. "Lili…" He mumbled, blinking away the emotion he had on his face. "What's up?"

He acted so casual despite he was standing in the rain after a funeral. "You're getting wet," She told him. "Let's get out of the rain."

The unsaid _we _sat in that sentence, but Raz's mind was somewhere else.

He looked up to her, his green eyes bright against the dark surroundings. He stared at her as if he was looking at her for the very first time. But when he spoke, it wasn't the words she was hoping for. "Lili, I need to talk to your father."

"What?" She said. Her psychic umbrella above flickered but kept.

"I need to talk to Truman Zanotto. I need access to files-"

"Raz…" Lili interrupted him. "You know my father has many enemies. By telling you where he is could put his life at risk. _I _don't even know where he is at the moment; and even if I did, I still wouldn't tell you."

"Lili, I need access to high profile files. The case I'm working on demands more information than given."

Lili was starting to get angry. Above her, her thin orange umbrella flicked rapidly as if someone was flipping an on/off switch constantly. "Raz, you know damn well I can't get in contact with my father unless it's an emergency. He calls me, not the other way around."

Jessie Adams. He was her boyfriend during her last year of high school. He was a fun, annoying guy. He made her laugh, he took her out to fun places, but she knew she didn't love him. He was nothing more to her than a friend whom she kissed every so often.

Near the end of her senior year, she realized why Jessie became her boyfriend: he wanted to be a Psychonaut. And he thought by dating her, he could get the approval of her father and become a high ranking officer.

So is the axiom of being a politician's daughter. You always have to be wary of the persons you befriend or date. They may only want you because of what you are and what you have.

"Then can _you _get me access?" Raz asked her. "Surely with your last name-"

Her umbrella disappeared. It was fine, she couldn't think beyond what was in front of her at the moment.

Rain fell on her by the gallons. She didn't feel the cold of the water- inside she was boiling. "I'm not a Psychonaut," She spat at him. "Just because we dated once Raz, does not ensure you special treatment."

Raz's eyes widen a bit from their narrowed determination. It seemed he realized how he was behaving towards her. But it was too late to apologize. "Lili-"

"_I am not a stepping stone," _She hissed at him angrily, shoving her finger in his face. _"I am not a pawn or a prize to be won. _If you want those files so damn badly, then why don't you go sleep with the current president's daughter?"

For a last final insult –metaphoric or just a way to make him keep his distance- Lili summoned the water splattering at their feet to suddenly rise up. As if someone jumped in the pool, Raz flinched as this small wall of water obscured his view and made him cough and sputter. When the water wall was gone, so was Lili.

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A/N: Fanfics should be written for the joy, not the reviews of it. I'm realizing that more and more as I write this fic. R/R anyways.

You know how hard it is to make a title of each chapter to follow the "day" sequence? In the beginning, I thought I was so smart...


	7. Another Day

The cold November air brushed past Raz's arms, causing him to shiver and shake. He has never gotten used to the cold- not even when he was forced to spend a winter in Alaska, making sure the caribou made their migration undisturbed. He is, and always will be, a summer boy.

But at the moment his mind was not on his own comfort. His mind was solely on the body before him. Jose' Vazquez was twisted in what looked to be a very torturous position. His eyes wide, his mouth slacked open. The Psychonaut had died screaming as his mind was slowly torn apart.

Raz tapped his gold badge in frustration as he circled the body. "What connects them?"

Agent Sheppard said nothing as she collected dirt from underneath Vasquez's cold fingers. "Hopefully there'll be some DNA from the attacker, but I seriously doubt that," She said instead. "From the way the body's positioned, it looks as if Vasquez was attacked from the side."

Raz shook his head. "Whoever this guy is… he's strong, he's fast, and his stealth is so great, it catches most of his victims off guard_._ He's after something, we just don't know what."

Noticing something, Sheppard quickly hides her dirt sample into her lab coat. "Don't look now, but Agent Nein is here."

Raz could have cursed. He wanted to spend a little more time conveying the crime scene before handing it over. After all, the murder happened on _his _jurisdiction. He should be the one to handle it. "Agent Nein," Raz greeted, forgoing his usual friendship with the older man.

Sasha made no indication that this bothered him. "Were you the first one here?"

"I am," Raz crossed his arms. "After all, my school is only a few miles away."

Sasha chose to ignore that last statement and turned towards Sheppard. "Did you determine the cause of death?"

"Yes sir, it's the same with Robert Reynolds. Cerebral conglomeration."

"Hmm…alright. Razputin, please have your team gather their things. I am taking over."

"Now wait a minute," Raz stepped forward. "You can't expect-"

"Must I pull rank?" Sasha warned.

Raz gritted his teeth, swallowing the insult in his throat. In the end, when all of this was said and done, he knew he and Sasha would still be friends, but at the moment, he did not like the older man. "No _sir. _We're going. I hope your investigation goes smoothly."

It was like a kick to the crotch. Raz hasn't been dismissed by a higher ranking Agent since he was fifteen. From the corner of his eye he could see Sheppard smugly enjoying his dismissal but he chose not to call her out on it. She was, after all, on his side.

She pulled the little vial of dirt from her coat pocket. "I'll run some tests on this sample. Hopefully something will come up."

"Good."

"I'll discreetly look through Jose' Vasquez's files, try to see if he worked on any large cases recently."

Raz nodded. "Good."

"If I may say so sir," Copper intoned. "You don't seem to be on your game today."

Raz mentally berated himself. He was in such a funk, even his fellow Psychonauts noticed his lack of enthusiasm. "I apologize if it seems I'm not pulling my own weight… I'm stressed about school."

"I understand," Cooper nodded. "I remember my days as a student and all the late night study sessions."

Raz was once again reminded just how young he was compared to his fellow agents. Unlike Sheppard who hated that fact her superior was fifteen years younger than her, Copper seemed to ignore it.

"It's a girl."

Both Raz's and Copper's heads snapped to Sheppard, who was looking at her vial of dirt in very nonchalant way. "Excuse me?"

The agent sighed dramatically, twisting her eyes at him as if the movement deserved such effort. "I have a nephew that attends Paths University. He tells me you're involved with Zanatto's daughter."

Gods! Did everyone think he only liked Lili because of her last name? He should have seen this coming. Out of all the thousands of students attending the school, he and Lili were probably the most well known.

"Zanatto?" Copper's eyes went wide. "You mean- _President _Zanatto? You're dating his daughter?"

Raz could feel his face burning. "We're not dating!"

"That's not what I heard," Sheppard muttered.

"Okay, that's enough!" Raz turned to them. "Look, Lili and I were childhood friends. It's nothing more than that. And I don't want you spreading rumors around, is that clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Crystal."

"Thank you," Raz sighed. "Report to me of any odd ongoings. I'm going back to school."

()

Lili was used to being called to the Principal's office. She didn't take any perverse pleasure out of it- every fight she had ever got into, she had been defending herself or others. So why, for god's sake, were her palms sweating as she stood in front of her teacher?

Reed sighed unhappily. _Lili, _She began. _I'm very disappointed with the progress between you and Raz. You're not developing as fast as I'd like you to. Your connection is shaky at best and I want to know why._

Lili felt her cheeks burn. Ever since the funeral, there was an unsaid agreement between the two former campers to only speak of superficial things. Raz would ask her, "How are you?" to which she would answer, "Fine" and that would mark the end of their conversation. In self-defense they keep their distance and in telepathy, they kept their minds separate. So far, this was the only class where their grades suffered.

Lili started slowly. "We're…not as close as we thought we would be. We're not good partners."

Reed frowned at her. _I don't believe that. There is something between you, something deep. And whether you like it or not, it's binding you two together._

Lili nearly groaned. What the HELL did that mean? When she used to visit the Psychonaut headquarters, there were plenty of agents who talked in riddles and in Yoda-like accents. She thought she got away from that when she came to college.

_You're not switching partners, _Reed told her. _It's too late to switch. Either you and Raz get over whatever insecurity you have with each other or fail the course._

_()_

At the word 'fail,' Lili felt as if someone kicked her in the stomach. She had never failed in school. She had never so much gotten an A minus.

She stomped through campus grounds, her mind reeling. Her floating notebook behind her reflected her thoughts as it twisted and dipped erratically.

She needed to talk to Raz.

_Crap!_ she thought, ramming her fist into a tree. To establish such a link with Raz meant she had to get on better terms with him. She had to actually trust him, like him, allow him into her mind. Even if her grade was on the line here, she wasn't sure she could do that. For god's sake, she had a better relationship with Dennis, the Starbucks employee!

Lili sighed and rubbed her sore hand. This was something she was going have to suck up and deal with. She couldn't afford to fail this class.

First she had to find him. Opening the telepathic link between them, Lili searched for Raz's psychic signature. The signal was weak, only giving her a general direction of where he was. North-east.

Lili shuffled through the grass fields, dreading the upcoming conversation with each step. By renewing their link with each other, did this mean she had to admit to him she loved him?

She rather die first.

Lili spotted him easily. His entourage of fans could be seen from far distances. She wondered why he never bothered to tell the silly geese to gaggle off. Standing not too far away, Lili sent a small telepathic message.

_We need to talk._

At those distances, such simple words were the best she could do, reminding her strongly of how far behind they were. It took a few seconds for the message to get through Raz's mental shields and when it did, he looked up at her direction.

Lili nodded towards him and ducked around a corner. She didn't have to wait long.

Raz came into view, now separate from his fans. He leaned against the brick building, crossing his arms. "Okay. So what do we have to talk about?"

Lili faced him and said very seriously. "We're failing telepathy."

Raz didn't bat an eye. "Okay."

"Okay?" Lili fumed. "Did that even get through your thick skull? We're _failing!"_

"You said we needed to talk. I didn't come here to be screamed at."

Lili placed her face in her hands, resisting the urge to scream very loudly. Lili had never obsessed about her grades; of course, she had also never failed once. And her partner, the one who was helping her fail, didn't seem to care. "Are you even listening to me? We are failing class, a class we cannot take again!"

"What do you want me to do about it?" Raz shot back. "Two months ago, you didn't seem to care we were on this path."

"Forget two months ago. I'm talking about now, what are we going to do about now."

"I think it's pretty obvious. Drop the class."

Lili jerked as if she was slapped. "Drop the class?" She said slowly, anger coming into her voice. "That's your answer, drop the class. Are you even aware of the fact that the drop date _passed-"_

"It's a psychic school, Lili," Raz nearly rolled his eyes. "You're allowed to drop any class if certain circumstances come up. Mental breakdowns, strokes-"

"Right," Lili sneered. "I think I'll give myself a stroke to drop class-"

"_OR…" _Raz continued, his tone obvious he is not amused with her sarcasm. "If your psychic partner is unavailable."

"Unavailable? What do you mean? Are you leaving?"

"Not for good," Raz muttered, turning his head away. "I'm too busy to keep up with school work. I'm just dropping a few classes."

Slowly, Lili's anger dribbled away. She wasn't overly concerned for the Psychonaut- he can take care of himself- though the idea Raz was too busy for school was baffling. "Are you sick?" Came out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Didn't she agree not to show any affection or otherwise for him? "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Raz flashed a cocky sneer. "I was under the impression you weren't willing to give me any of your help," he said.

Blush quickly spread over Lili's cheeks and her anger returned. The thoughts of her grades, her classes, suddenly went out the window. "And I was under the impression that you weren't a little prick!"

They started arguing. Their voices got louder, their insults more obscene by the minute. At first students simply walked by, ignoring the arguing pair. But now a small crowd had formed and watched on with eager faces.

"You know what?" Raz said, throwing his hands up in the air. "I've had enough. I'm dropping the bloody class. Professor Reed will understand, does that satisfy you or do you wish to argue pointlessly a little longer?"

"Fine. Go," Lili waved him off. "Just leave me alone."

"Gladly."

Raz jumped slightly as he finally noticed the crowd surrounding him. Used to the stares of strangers, Raz ignored them and levitated away.

With her arms crossed across her chest, Lili watched the Psychonaut fly away. When she saw people were still staring at her, she made herself invisible to eye and snuck away.

()

A/N: I love this fic. I really do. I wish I had more time to write it. I wish my muse hadn't run off with her ski instructor to Mexico. R/R please.


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